During my most recent trip to the Orlando area, I flew through O’Hare airport in Chicago. From my place of residence, I have the ability to take the train into Chicago for such adventures. Based on the train schedule, I knew I would have about a 2–3-hour time window in the airport to enjoy lunch before flying down to Orlando. Based on that I planned to have lunch at the Rick Bayless Frontera quick service location within O’Hare airport. This location serves tortas. I joked this would be a pre-game meal for reviewing something at Frontera Cocina restaurant in Disney Springs. Well, in fact, it became that as I enjoyed a late lunch at Disney Springs on a weekday afternoon during that trip.

That afternoon, I ordered chips and salsa for an appetizer. If you were expecting chips and salsa to be complimentary, that fails to be true here. Just like at the quick service location in the airport, chips, and salsa cost $5 here. At Frontera Cocina in Disney Springs, you get a basket of chips with smoky chipotle salsa and herby salsa verde. This nice safe appetizer serves it purpose nicely. The chips rank as average, especially for a Rick Bayless restaurant. Still, the salsa offers incredible flavor. The salsa verde provided far more kick that I expected. Yet, I preferred the chipotle salsa with these chips.

For my entrée, I ordered the “Grilled Chicken Chipotle Tacos.” These cost $22. Yet, the Walt Disney World website lists these at $20 as of time of writing. Both major theme park resorts in the Orlando area fail to update online menus very quickly so plan for that. The menu description reads grilled chicken in tangy chipotle sauce, caramelized red onions, black bean refritos with queso fresco, guacamole, and chipotle salsa. As you might imagine at this place, these are not your normal tacos. In fact, you assemble them yourself with the ingredients. With your tacos, you get some well-prepared “street-size” tortillas. Though I would have preferred a more traditional flour tortilla flavor, these tortillas worked well.

All the components of this entrée provided solid flavor. I suspect even if you generally dislike some of the components, you will enjoy them within your tacos. I expected a bit more spice from this style of restaurant but still good flavor overall. If looking to be critical of the flavor, nothing about this entrée ranks as excellent. Still, nothing would qualify as anything lower than above average.

During my experience, I started with four small tortillas. I felt they did not arrive warm enough but that might be personal preference. During my meal, my server asked if I wanted more tortillas without being prompted. The second set of tortillas arrived warmer but still not to the level I prefer.

The portion size of chicken for this price at a table service dining options exceeds expectations. Sure, I would have liked more but realistically a solid portion within an excellent preparation. The chicken offers all expected flavors and is well prepared. With two set of tortillas, I made eight street style size tacos. Yes, those function as small tacos but I easily make eight using all components of this entrée. If during your visit, you get eight tortillas, this dish could be shared between two people easily especially if you got chips and salsa also. In addition, the chips tasted better with the chicken and beans than the tortillas did in my opinion.

I started looking for a reservation here about two weeks in advance. I failed to get one. Yet, honestly, I did not put much effort into the process for this restaurant. I focused on Homecomin and Raglan Road over this location. However, I walked in during a weekday afternoon to a close to empty restaurant easily getting a table. I selected to eat at the bar, but tables were available. I did check back that evening. The place was filled during evening mealtime that night. Thus, if you want a table here in the evening, you might want to set an alert of MouseDining.com

In conclusion, this place offers solid experience. If looking for a more upscale Mexican style meal, this place will not disappoint. The traditional criticism of this place revolves around high price points. At least for this meal, I found value in my selection. My tacos provided enough kick that you knew you were at a Rick Bayless restaurant. Yet, the spice factor would not overwhelm most people with the exception of salsa verde. All in all, this place makes a decent option for dining at Disney Springs. As always, eat like you mean it!